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Mortgages To Fit Your Life Plan

Professional advice for working professionals

So you can live your best life with a strategy to achieve your real estate and financial goals

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Getting a mortgage on your own with a traditional bank can COST you!

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with paying more overall costs for your mortgage beyond rate

Overwhelmed

with spending excessive time researching for options

Struggle

with making the right decision without a mortgage professional whose interest is aligned with you

Miss out

on options and expertise that the banks do not offer

We believe you deserve

You deserve a mortgage that works for you.  Finding and financing your home is a huge investment in time and money.  For most, it is the biggest financial investment they’d ever make in their lifetime.

Ther
efore, your mortgage should fit into your overall financial strategy.  Unfortunately, the mortgage industry isn’t set up that way.  Most banks and mortgage providers are very transactional, and rate focused.  We want to provide you with much more to ensure you are empowered in the process, get clarity on where you are going and be confident that your mortgage fits into your overall financial life plan.


Let us be your strategic mortgage partners

Matthew Chan
CPA, CA
Mortgage Consultant
MEET THE TEAM

Matt still remembers clearly when he bought his first home.  At the time, he was still raising a very young family and just started his new mortgage career.  The prospect of buying his first home was overwhelming and downright terrifying.


Matt also remembered the feeling when he bought his first investment property.  There was a lot of anxiety he had no idea what it meant to be a landlord, whether or not it was the right decision and time to buy and even if it was affordable.


Because of this experience and his love of real estate, Matt is dedicated to supporting others to achieve their dream of home ownership.  Whether you are buying your first home or aspire to build a real estate empire, Matt is committed to providing a sound strategy to achieve your goals.


After starting his career as a professional accountant and achieving his CPA (CA) designation in Vancouver, Matthew moved to Toronto to pursue an MBA from the Rotman School of Management at University of Toronto.  In 2004, Matthew moved back to Vancouver to raise his family and start his mortgage career.


Since starting his career, Matthew has served as a board member for the Canadian Mortgage Broker Association of BC and achieved Elite Hall of Fame status with Dominion Lending Centres. Matthew is also an avid Real Estate Investor and loves to share his knowledge and passion of real estate investing with others.


With his professional qualifications, educational background, industry experience as both a mortgage professional and as a real estate investor, Matthew has the skillset to advise you on your mortgage and real estate goals. 


When not in his office, Matthew enjoys spending time with family and friends, training Gracie Jiu Jitsu and pursuing personal and professional development.

Here are some nice things clients say about working with us

Let us help you find a mortgage that best fits your life plan   
Budget
Proposal

We review both the costs to complete and the regular recurring costs of home ownership with you so you feel secure and confident to move forward every step of the way.

Mortgage
Options

We listen to you and provide advice and financial education.  With access to multiple lenders and products, we can review and present options that fit with your plan.

Support You Throughout the Process

We keep you regularly updated from the start to completion.  Once you complete, we continue with regular updates to ensure we are still moving towards your goals.

We'll guide you to a solution with these 3 simple steps

Schedule A

Discovery Call

We get to know each other a bit better and learn more about what your short term and long term real estate and financial goals are. We get a high level view of what your options could look like. 

Build a Custom Mortgage Proposal and Review Strategy with You

After we review your application in more depth, we propose options and help you evaluate the pros and cons of each, You get more clarity on your strategy for your long term goals.


We Implement

The Plan

With more insight, you choose the option that best fits your life. We handle the rest. You feel confident and empowered knowing you made a great decision.

Download My Mortgage Toolbox using my personal install buttons below so you can get exclusive access to all premium features.

WHAT CAN YOU DO WITH MY APP:

 

  • Calculate your total cost of owning a home
  • Estimate the minimum down payment you need
  • Calculate Land transfer taxes and the available rebates
  • Calculate the maximum loan you can borrow
  • Stress test your mortgage
  • Estimate your Closing costs
  • Compare your options side by side
  • Search for the best mortgage rates
  • Email Summary reports (PDF)
  • Use my app in English, French, Spanish, Hindi and Chinese

 

ARTICLES

By Matthew Chan 06 Nov, 2024
There is no doubt about it, buying a home can be an emotional experience. Especially in a competitive housing market where you feel compelled to bid over the asking price to have a shot at getting into the market. Buying a home is a game of balancing needs and wants while being honest with yourself about those very needs and wants. It’s hard to get it right, figuring out what’s negotiable and what isn’t, what you can live with and what you can’t live without. Finding that balance between what makes sense in your head and what feels right in your heart is challenging. And the further you are in the process, the more desperate you may feel. One of the biggest mistakes you can make when shopping for a property is to fall in love with something you can’t afford. Doing this almost certainly guarantees that nothing else will compare, and you will inevitably find yourself “settling” for something that is actually quite nice. Something that would have been perfect had you not already fallen in love with something out of your price range. So before you ever look at a property, you should know exactly what you can qualify for so that you can shop within a set price range and you won’t be disappointed. Protect yourself with a mortgage pre-approval. A pre-approval does a few things It will outline your buying power. You will be able to shop with confidence, knowing exactly how much you can spend. It will uncover any issues that might arise in qualifying for a mortgage, for example, mistakes on your credit bureau. It will outline the necessary supporting documentation required to get a mortgage so you can be prepared. It will secure a rate for 30 to 120 days, depending on your mortgage product. It will save your heart from the pain of falling in love with something you can’t afford. Obviously, there is nothing wrong with looking at all types of property and getting a good handle on the market; however, a pre-approval will protect you from believing you can qualify for more than you can actually afford. Get a pre-approval before you start shopping; your heart will thank you. If you’d like to walk through your financial situation and get pre-approved for a mortgage, let’s talk. It would be a pleasure to work with you!
By Matthew Chan 30 Oct, 2024
When calculating if you can afford to purchase a property, don’t just figure out a rough downpayment and quickly move on from there. Several other costs need to be considered when buying a property; these are called your closing costs. Closing costs refer to the things you’ll have to pay for out of your pocket and the amount of money necessary to finalize the purchase of a property. And like most things in life, it pays to plan ahead when it comes to closing costs. Closing costs should be part of the pre-approval conversation as they are just as important as saving for your downpayment. Now, if your mortgage is high-ratio and requires mortgage default insurance, the lender will need to confirm that you have at least 1.5% of the purchase price available to close the mortgage. This is in addition to your downpayment. So if your downpayment is 10% of the purchase price, you’ll want to have at least 11.5% available to bring everything together. But of course, the more cash you have to fall back on, the better. So with that said, here is a list of the things that will cost you money when you’re buying a property. As prices vary per service, if you’d like a more accurate estimate of costs, please connect anytime, it would be a pleasure to walk through the exact numbers with you. Inspection or Appraisal A home inspection is when you hire a professional to assess the property's condition to make sure that you won’t be surprised by unexpected issues. An appraisal is when you hire a professional to compare the property's value against other properties that have recently sold in the area. The cost of a home inspection is yours, while the appraisal cost is sometimes covered by your mortgage default insurance and sometimes covered by you! Lawyer or Notary Fees To handle all the legal paperwork, you’re required to hire a legal real estate professional. They’ll be responsible for transferring the title from the seller's name into your name and make sure the lender is registered correctly on the title. Chances are, this will be one of your most significant expenses, except if you live in a province with a property transfer tax. Taxes Depending on which province you live in and the purchase price of the property you’re buying, you might have to pay a property transfer tax or land transfer tax. This cost can be high, upwards of 1-2% of the purchase price. So you’ll want to know the numbers well ahead of time. Insurance Before you can close on mortgage financing, all financial institutions want to see that you have property/home insurance in place for when you take possession. If disaster strikes and something happens to the property, your lender must be listed on your insurance policy. Unlike property insurance, which is mandatory, you might also consider mortgage insurance, life insurance, or a disability insurance policy that protects you in case of unforeseen events. Not necessary, but worth a conversation. Moving Expenses Congratulations, you just bought a new property; now you have to get all your stuff there! Don’t underestimate the cost of moving. If you’re moving across the country, the cost of hiring a moving company is steep, while renting a moving truck is a little more reasonable; it all adds up. Hopefully, if you’re moving locally, your costs amount to gas money and pizza for friends. Utilities Hooking up new services to a property is more time-consuming than costly. However, if you’re moving to a new province or don’t have a history of paying utilities, you might be required to come up with a deposit for services. It doesn’t really make sense to buy a property if you can’t afford to turn on the power or connect the water. So there you have it; this covers most of the costs associated with buying a new property. However, this list is by no means exhaustive, but as mentioned earlier, planning for these costs is a good idea and should be part of the pre-approval process. If you have any questions about your closing costs or anything else mortgage-related, please connect anytime; it would be great to hear from you!
By Matthew Chan 23 Oct, 2024
Bank of Canada reduces policy rate by 50 basis points to 3¾%. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Relations Ottawa, Ontario October 23, 2024 The Bank of Canada today reduced its target for the overnight rate to 3¾%, with the Bank Rate at 4% and the deposit rate at 3¾%. The Bank is continuing its policy of balance sheet normalization. The Bank continues to expect the global economy to expand at a rate of about 3% over the next two years. Growth in the United States is now expected to be stronger than previously forecast while the outlook for China remains subdued. Growth in the euro area has been soft but should recover modestly next year. Inflation in advanced economies has declined in recent months, and is now around central bank targets. Global financial conditions have eased since July, in part because of market expectations of lower policy interest rates. Global oil prices are about $10 lower than assumed in the July Monetary Policy Report (MPR). In Canada, the economy grew at around 2% in the first half of the year and we expect growth of 1¾% in the second half. Consumption has continued to grow but is declining on a per person basis. Exports have been boosted by the opening of the Trans Mountain Expansion pipeline. The labour market remains soft—the unemployment rate was at 6.5% in September. Population growth has continued to expand the labour force while hiring has been modest. This has particularly affected young people and newcomers to Canada. Wage growth remains elevated relative to productivity growth. Overall, the economy continues to be in excess supply. GDP growth is forecast to strengthen gradually over the projection horizon, supported by lower interest rates. This forecast largely reflects the net effect of a gradual pick up in consumer spending per person and slower population growth. Residential investment growth is also projected to rise as strong demand for housing lifts sales and spending on renovations. Business investment is expected to strengthen as demand picks up, and exports should remain strong, supported by robust demand from the United States. Overall, the Bank forecasts GDP growth of 1.2% in 2024, 2.1% in 2025, and 2.3% in 2026. As the economy strengthens, excess supply is gradually absorbed. CPI inflation has declined significantly from 2.7% in June to 1.6% in September. Inflation in shelter costs remains elevated but has begun to ease. Excess supply elsewhere in the economy has reduced inflation in the prices of many goods and services. The drop in global oil prices has led to lower gasoline prices. These factors have all combined to bring inflation down. The Bank’s preferred measures of core inflation are now below 2½%. With inflationary pressures no longer broad-based, business and consumer inflation expectations have largely normalized. The Bank expects inflation to remain close to the target over the projection horizon, with the upward and downward pressures on inflation roughly balancing out. The upward pressure from shelter and other services gradually diminishes, and the downward pressure on inflation recedes as excess supply in the economy is absorbed. With inflation now back around the 2% target, Governing Council decided to reduce the policy rate by 50 basis points to support economic growth and keep inflation close to the middle of the 1% to 3% range. If the economy evolves broadly in line with our latest forecast, we expect to reduce the policy rate further. However, the timing and pace of further reductions in the policy rate will be guided by incoming information and our assessment of its implications for the inflation outlook. We will take decisions one meeting at a time. The Bank is committed to maintaining price stability for Canadians by keeping inflation close to the 2% target. Information note The next scheduled date for announcing the overnight rate target is December 11, 2024. The Bank will publish its next full outlook for the economy and inflation, including risks to the projection, in the MPR on January 29, 2025. Read the October 23rd, 2024 Monetary Report.

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